O God, on this Labor Day weekend, we especially show honor to those who offer their best to make a living as well as to those who might be struggling to find employment. When we put our groceries on the conveyor belt or ask for the #2 combo at a fast food restaurant or cash a check at the bank, may our interaction with those who are working behind the counter be one of encouragement and gratitude for their service to us. Forgive us for the many times that we forget how important these jobs are in our everyday lives.
We also are thankful for students who are preparing for a particular job or career path. We pray that their education, their training, and their credentialing will be used to help make this world a better place, a place that is filled with your justice and peace.
On this Labor Day weekend, we are also thankful for those who are retired or semi-retired and who offer their time and resources through volunteer work in our community and through the life of the church. Thank you for blessing us through their willing hands and hearts.
O Lord, we lift up to you those on our church’s prayer list as well as the joys and concerns that we offer to you from our hearts this day. And we especially pray for the many people who have lost their homes and possessions from the recent tropical storm as well as those businesses that have needed to close down. Thank you for the United Methodist Committee on Relief which is already responding to the relief efforts for those who have been impacted.
As we reflect on the meaning of this holiday weekend and quickly approach the fall season, may this John Wesley prayer be one that centers us, offers us guidance and discernment, and leads us to be faithful disciples of Jesus:
“I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.”
We offer this prayer in the name of Jesus who we seek to faithfully and joyfully follow, and who taught us all to pray together…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
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